Frequently Asked Questions

There is little more beautiful than a mother hen sheltering chicks beneath her wings. And there is little more efficient! If you have the luxury of having a broody hen to raise your chicks, you should totally take it. But there are some important things to be aware of! When you are having a broody hen raise new baby chicks that have been shipped to you, first remember that your hen has to be currently broody. If she is not broody when you try to introduce chicks to her, she may try to kill them, but she certainly won't adopt...

You pay for your order as soon as it is placed; that is what holds your reservation. We don't keep your payment information on file---this helps protect you from identity theft. But for that reason, we have no way of charging your card weeks or months later when your birds have hatched---or your juveniles are grown---and are ready to ship. In addition, when ordering baby chicks in particular, if we did keep your payment information and wait to charge you on hatch day, if there were some problem with the transaction, it would create a BIG problem for the baby...

No, we're sorry. If you want specific breeds or colors, you'll need to purchase each breed you want and construct your order that way. The assortments are hatchery choice, and are not sorted by breed or color.

No, no, no... you don't want to do that. It's is a bad idea for many reasons. First, one chicken raised alone will often die of loneliness--they are flock animals and need companions. Second, baby chicks require a nice warm brooder--and by warm, we mean about 95 degrees! They will get ill and die at room temperature in an Easter basket. And third, even were you to buy several chicks and give them proper care in a brooder, generally speaking, it's still just not an ethical thing to do. It's cruel to raise a baby animal, or several, only to...

Well, the truth is that it simply depends on how you want us to handle any problems with your order. Some customers will wait many months for just the right breed, because the breed they get is the most important consideration for them. Others may not care so much what breed they receive, so long as they get the shipping date they need. So, take a few moments to consider your needs before making this choice. When you choose "no substitutions," that has to do with what day you are originally scheduled to receive your birds. Our website is updated...

You're right that some breeds like Polish and silkies can come bearded or nonbearded, but there is no way to choose which because they are not sorted that way. The same goes for ordering "blue" breeds. As you can see in the descriptions, blues usually come in a mix of blue, black and splash. When that's the case, you cannot choose which you receive. Similarly, you can't choose what color Easter Egger you get, or which birds come in a hatchery or breeder choice assortment. All your buying options are always right on the pages.

You're not wrong to be upset at the loss of your pets, of course, but if you're upset at your hatchery for suggesting that deaths weren't related to Marek's disease or asking questions about your brooder set up, your anger is misplaced. Of course it's upsetting when your pets die! However, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual, Marek's Disease can develop in chickens as young as three weeks old, not younger. Since your chicks weren't even old enough to show the first symptoms, whatever they died from couldn't have been from Marek's, whether they were vaccinated, not vaccinated, badly vaccinated...

No. If you want to purchase live birds or fertile eggs, you will need to find a local supplier to help you; we do not ship internationally. (We don't even ship non-live items internationally.) If there is no local supplier and you want to go to the effort of importing chickens or fertile eggs into your country, you should be aware that it's not an easy process. Plus, we still can't help you--we don't export or ship internationally. We get asked often enough that we can provide some advice, though. First, you will need to check to see what customs...